Gary Brooker Solo
The Paramounts They were either formed as "The Raiders" in 1959 when the members were at secondary school, or were one of the first "manufactured" bands, the organisers of a band competition at the Palace Hotel in Southend forming a group out of the best musicians in the contest. The Raiders had Robin Trower and Chris Copping (guitars), Mick Trower (lead vocals; older brother of Robin Trower) and Gary Nicholls (drums; born 1945 died April 2007). The initial line-up of the Paramounts from September 1960, was Gary Brooker (piano, ex-Johnny Short and the Coasters), Mick Brownlee (drums; born October 1943, ex-Mickey Law and the Outlaws), Chris Copping (bass), Bob Scott (vocals, ex-Bob Scott and the Clansmen) and Robin Trower (guitar). Scott soon left, and Brooker became the vocalist, but as he was only 14, this made playing in licensed premises difficult, so they started performing in Trower's father's cafe, which became The Shades Club. Copping left in December 1962 and Brownlee left in September 1963, and were replaced by Diz Derrick (bass; born Grahame Derrick, 11 December 1944, Upminster, Essex) and B J Wilson (drums). In late 1964 and early 1965 they had Phil Wainman on drums (born Philip Neil Wainman, 7 June 1946, West London), who briefly replaced Wilson who went to Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions. The Paramounts’ line-up comprised the following by late 1963: Gary Brooker – keyboards/lead vocals Robin Trower – lead guitar Graham ‘Diz’ Derrick – bass Barry J Wilson – drums 1964 January 19, 1964 Olympia Ballroom, Reading, ENG January 22, 1964 Olympia, Cromer, ENG (with Denny Raven & The Sabres) February 14, 1964 Oasis Club, Manchester, ENG (with Pete Day & The Knights) February 21, 1964 Palace Dance Hall, Pier Hill, Southend, ENG March 29, 1964 Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, ENG (with Danie Boone & The Emeralds) March 30, 1964 California Ballroom, Dunstable, ENG (with The Puppets & Margo & The Marvelletes) April 4, 1964 Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, ENG (with Johnny & The Starliners) May 15, 1964 Ricky-Tick, Guildford, ENG May 18, 1964 Town Hall, Clacton, ENG (with The Contrasts & The Deepbeats) June 5, 1964 Wimbledon Palais, Wimbledon, ENG (with Demons & Chantons) July 10, 1964 Winchester Lido, Winchester, ENG (with Kerry Rapid & The Seltones) July 24, 1964 Locarno Ballroom, Basildon, ENG (with Manfred Mann & The Monotones) August 1, 1964 Twisted Wheel, Manchester, ENG (with Graham Bond Organisation) September 4, 1964 Greenwich Town Hall, London, ENG (with The Renegades) September 10, 1964 Modern Jazz Studio, Westcliffe, ENG October 11, 1964 76 Club, Burton on Trent, ENG Around this time B J Wilson left to join Jimmy Powell’s Five Dimensions and Phil Wainman joined beating Mick Underwood to the job. Wainman had recently returned from Sweden where he’d played with British band, The Hi-Grades November 7, 1964 Gaiety Ballroom, Ramsey, ENG (with Bobby Leroy & The Freeman) December 17, 1964 Modern Jazz Studio, Westcliffe, ENG 1965 January 2, 1965 Civic Hall, Guildford, ENG (with The King Bees) January 10, 1965 Dungeon Club, Nottingham, ENG January 14, 1965 Studio, Westcliffe, ENG January 31, 1965 Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, ENG (with Daniel & The Emeralds) February 6, 1965 London Polytechnic, London, ENG (NOT A PARAMOUNTS GIG. Phil Wainman deputised for Pete McDaniels in The Birds) February 11, 1965 Studio, Westcliffe, ENG Package Tour With Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr, The Paramounts & (Compere) Freddie Earle. The Paramounts backed Sandie Shaw & Patrick Kerr as well as performing their own brief set. February 21, 1965 De Montfort Hall, Leicester, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) February 22, 1965 Granada, Bedford, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) February 23, 1965 Gaumont, Ipswich, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) February 24, 1965 Capitol, Cardiff, WAL (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) February 25, 1965 Gaumont, Worcester, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) February 26, 1965 Colston Hall, Bristol, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) February 27, 1965 Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, ENG (2 shows, with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) February 28, 1965 Odeon, Southend, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 2, 1965 Granada, Harrow, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 3, 1965 Granada, Kingston, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 4, 1965 Granada, Maidstone, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 5, 1965 Adelphi, Slough, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 6, 1965 Guildhall, Portsmouth, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 7, 1965 Walthamstow Granada, London, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 9, 1965 Granada, Shrewsbury, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 10, 1965 Globe, Stockton, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 11, 1965 City Hall, Newcastle, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 12, 1965 Gaumont, Doncaster, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 13, 1965 Granada, Mansfield, ENG (with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) March 14, 1965 St. George's Hall, Bradford, ENG (2 shows 5.30 & 8.00, with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr & Freddie Earle) Around this time B J Wilson returned to the band. Wainman later became a noted producer but spent the mid-late 1960s backing Jimmy Cliff with The New Generation, playing with Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement and then working with The Quotations, supporting Jack Hammer April 17, 1965 Hastings Pier Ballroom, Hastings, ENG (supporting The Searchers) April 19, 1965 Studio, Westcliffe, ENG April 21, 1965 Studio, Westcliffe, ENG April 22, 1965 Birdcage, Kimbells Ballroom, Southsea, ENG April 23, 1965 UK TV "Ready Steady Go" performing "Blue Ribbons" & "Dancin' Little Thing" May 6, 1965 Birdcage, Kimbells Ballroom, Southsea, ENG May 10, 1965 Blue Moon, Hayes, ENG (with Poison Ivy) COULD BE ANOTHER YEAR May 14, 1965 Cricketers Inn, Southend, ENG May 20, 1965 Birdcage, Kimbells Ballroom, Southsea, ENG May 21, 1965 Tarpots Public House, Benfleet, ENG May 28, 1965 Cricketers Inn, Southend, ENG (with Ray Martin Group) June 2, 1965 TA Centre, Andover, ENG (with The Men Friday) July 16, 1965 Tarpots Public House, Benfleet, ENG July 23, 1965 Tarpots Public House, Benfleet, ENG August 18, 1965 Cricketers Inn, Southend, ENG August 28, 1965 Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, ENG (with The Cortinas) September 4, 1965 Cricketers Inn, Southend, ENG September 9, 1965 Orchid Ballroom, Purley, ENG (Backing Sandie Shaw) September 24, 1965 Locarno Ballroom, Basildon, ENG (with The Transatlantics & The Pentads) November 27, 1965 Starlight Ballroom, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, ENG (with Sandie Shaw & The Quiet Five & The Basic Five) December 24, 1965 Cricketers Inn, Southend, ENG (supported by The Orioles) December 31, 1965 Cricketers Inn, Southend, ENG (with The Orioles) 1966 January 3, 1966 Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City, ENG January 4, 1966 Birdcage, Eastney, ENG February 1, 1966 Ready Steady Go Club, Aylesbury, ENG February 19, 1966 Birdcage, Eastney, ENG April 22, 1966 Birdcage, Eastney, ENG April 23, 1966 Farnborough Technical College Students’ Union, Farnborough, ENG (with Tony Rivers & The Castaways) April 29, 1966 Cricketer’s Inn, Southend, ENG In late June/early July Robin Trower left to form his own group, The Jam and Martin Shaw joined on guitar from Jimmy Powell’s group July 14, 1966 Bamboo Club, Farnborough, ENG July 16, 1966 Bamboo Club, Farnborough, ENG September 11, 1966 Thalia Elberfeld, Wuppertal, GER The Paramounts split soon after and B J Wilson joined George Bean & The Runners before joining Freddie Mack and The Mack Sound later that year. He then worked with Sands before he reunited with Brooker and Trower in Procol Harum in June 1967 December 17, 2005 Club Riga, Southend, ENG (Brooker, Copping, Trower and Brownlee) Albert Lee At Albert Lee's 70th Birthday Concert Band du Lac July 2, 1988 Wintershall Estate, Bramley, ENG (Charity show in aid of the King Edward VII Hospital) July 7, 2001 Wintershall Estate, Bramley, ENG June 11, 2005 Wintershall Estate, Bramley, ENG (Charity show to raise close to half a million pounds for the completion of a new wing at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. Guest musicians included Eric Clapton, Mike Rutherford, Roger Taylor, Rungo Starr, Katie Melua: and the 'Band du Lac' included Gary, Henry Spinetti, Dave Bronze, Graham Broad and Andy Fairweather Low) June 4, 2011 Wintershall Estate, Bramley, ENG Gary Brooker Ensemble 1997 A Huge Slice of England: the second 'Within Our House' concert, at Aldershot April 16, 2005 Guildford Cathedral, Guildford, ENG (Gary Brooker Ensemble in aid of tsunami survivors) 2006 Chelmsford Cathedral Festival Rock Meets Classic 1970s: Hermann Braunschmidt's account; the same author on the Early Nineties; the 1993 tour The RD Crusaders 19 October 2003, Ronnie Scott's Club, London Gary Brooker with Eric Clapton 1981 Stockholm, Sweden 2002 Brands Hatch, England Gary Brooker and Judy Blair 9 February 2010 Haiti benefit 21 August 2010 Abbaye Nouvelle Gary Brooker, Georgie Fame and the Tivoli Big Band 14 July 2007 Gary Brooker with Hogan's Heroes May 2007 Gary Brooker and Friends 1995 Chiddingfold Club 1998 Christmas concerts 2001 Mick Brownlee's retirement gig in Southend 2004 The closing-down gig of the Guildford Civic Hall December 18, 2005 Club Riga, Southend, ENG 2007 Club Riga, Southend, October 2007 Christmas charity concerts in Surrey and Essex 2008 Ollie G, Charity Ball in Surrey 2013 Gary Brooker and friends, in France Benefit for White Lotus School, Ladakh and Tibet House Trust: Brooker, Gilmour, Starr, Rutherford, Roger Taylor, Lulu, Geldof, Carrack, Donovan, Kenney Jones, Damon Hill etc : 21 June 2002 With Paul Jones, December 2013 No Stiletto Shoes 1988 Very early Shoes appearance at The Half Moon, Putney 1994 Gary Brooker's Christmas bash - from Record Collector, February 1995 1996? Gary Brooker: another Christmas bash 1997 The 'Shoes' at Chiddingfold, Christmas 1997 - including an all-Procol AWSoP 1998 Club Riga, Southend, Christmas Concert 2000 The Shoes' Millennium Concert : lots of pictures, still and moving! 2000 Club Riga, Southend, November 2001 Retirement Party of Paramount Mick Brownlee 2001 Wintershall, Surrey: 7 July 2002 The concert for George Harrison, 29 November 2002 2002 Brands Hatch 2002 The Brookers' Christmas Charity Concert : here, here, here and here 2002 No Stiletto Shoes, 21 December in Southend (booking details here) 2003 Royal Albert Hall, 25 March 2003 No Stiletto Shoes and Procol Harum: Chiddingfold, 20 December 2003: here, here, here, here and here 2003 No Stiletto Shoes at Southend: here and here, and setlist here; Jens's pictures of Chiddingfold here 2004 No Stiletto Shoes, Chiddingfold: a suite of pages 2005 No Stiletto Shoes (with alternate line-up) in India 2006 No Stiletto Shoes setlists: 15 December (photos here here and here), 16 December (photos), 17 December; December 20, 2007 Club Riga, Southend, ENG (No Stiletto Shoes) December 21, 2007 Chiddingfold Club, Surrey, ENG (No Stiletto Shoes, Supported by Never the Bride) December 22, 2007 Chiddingfold Club, Surrey, ENG (No Stiletto Shoes & mini-PH concert, Supported by Never the Bride) 2010 No Stiletto Shoes: 10, 11 and 12 December Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings From 'Record Collector', summer 2009A good piece on sidemen's superstar bands ; brief Procoloid snippets Bill Wyman's Stone Alone 1997 At London's The Forum: mentions Gary Brooker but not Graham Broad on drums! 1998 Tour dates here and reviews from Paradiso, Amsterdam; Paris, Linköping, Sweden, Aarhus, Denmark, Vega, Copenhagen 1999 UK Tour dates and reviews 2000 European Tour dates and numerous reviews 2001 European dates, US dates 2004 Charity gig with Clapton, Zombies, Peter Green and many others 2008 Monte Carlo 2008 Cahors Blues Festival 2013 Blues on the Farm Bill Wyman talks to Record Collector, November 1998, about Gary Brooker Wyman interview from BBC Radio 2: mp3 and from NY Daily News 2001 Gary Brooker on stage with the Rhythm Kings in Paris, October 1998. Ringo Starr's All-Starrs Several reports on Gary Brooker and the other All-Starrs on stage 1998 Tour Dates (From Shine Online) 1998 Wintershall, a huge charity gig 2008/2009 Gary Brooker with 'The Fourth Edition' 1987: Gary Brooker with Ad Visser 2012 Gary Brooker in Douglas Adams's Front Room Band Gary Brooker with the British Rock Symphony Gary Brooker solo in Poland, 2004 Gary Brooker solo in Italy, 2005 Gary Brooker on DVD with The Drifters Gary Brooker with Rag Mama Rag